First Quilt of 2024

My niece is having a baby at the end of this month. My nephews and nieces all get quilts when they have a baby. Thank heavens, I think they are slowing down now. This may be the last one. And this baby (we know it’s a girl) is getting a cute one for sure.

So I just want to say that I am not terribly fond of these somewhat complicated quilt instructions. If I had my way, every quilt would be improv. Or my other preferred way is 300 blocks of the exact same pattern. That way, a bad cut or a mis-measurement is not that big a deal. Lots of focus on color and design…not so much on fussiness. Plenty more fabric and ways to get around an error.

But this was a kit I purchased at the local quilt shop. And while I liked most of the fabric, they had a much duller color for the body of the fox. So I scrounged around in my sewing room and found something that had *just enough* fabric to be perfect for the fox body. But not an inch to spare.

That makes a slightly stressful process.

And here is an image of the many post-it notes necessary to label all the parts of this quilt.

Starting at A, we were well into HH and II and JJ. That’s a lot of different pieces.

But I managed to get it assembled.

I kept the quilting simple but fun. And added some lettering to the white border dedicating the quilt to the coming arrival, with my name and the year.

I’m pleased with the way it turned out. The assembly was a bit painful, but that’s just me. I always find that part hard to wrap my brain around.

If you are interested in the pattern, you can find it here.

I hope your new year is off to a good start. We have had almost all cloudy and foggy days.

The sun needs to show up soon.

Happy late winter. I’m already waiting for spring.

We’ll check back in soon!

A K.I.S.S for Valentine’s Day

The beauty of sewing is that you don’t have to work on the same project all the time. Some days you can work on something difficult. Some days you can switch to something repetitive and mindless. Some times you can try something new. And if you are just wanting to sew without a lot of planning and over-thinking you can K.I.S.S. And I’m sure we all know what the acronym stands for.

Nothing in quilting is super simple or without requiring some skill or knowledge. But some days, you just want to use what you already know and have something finished without a lot of hassle.

Riley Blake makes these monthly kits and my local quit shop had many of them on sale over the holidays. I always make something for Valentine’s Day, and I’m not sure why it means something to me. Growing up, it was just a day I sat home. And even after I got married, we have never taken this holiday very seriously.

Yet when it comes to sewing, I’m always inspired to do something for Valentine’s. Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s the emptiness of the post-holiday household. Maybe I just want something bright in my house this time of year. I’m not sure.

It’s a fairly simple pattern. Although, of course, I found an error in the pattern instructions. You know that’s my favorite thing (sarcasm), especially with a kit, where you don’t have any room for error with the fabric you’re given.

Luckily I *am* someone who reads a pattern all the way through before beginning. Been burned way too many times not to. And it’s a simple fix. Even if you cut it wrong to start, you’ll figure out the problem by the time you get to the next step, and you won’t be short any fabric. I imagine that’s why there’s no correction on their website for this. I won’t tell you here. But if you buy it, drop me a line by commenting here or send an email to carol.edgestitch@gmail.com and I’ll tell you what to watch for.

I found some tiny little roses for backing fabric at the local shop. Thank goodness for them. Please shop your local stores so they stay in business.

That’s all for now. Just a sweet little 36 x 36 room brightener. Happy Valentine’s Day to those who celebrate.

And if you’re sitting home with a box of chocolates–I feel you.